Patent GB-818072-A (GB)
Title: Data sensing and handling apparatus
IPC: G06V10/30
Filed: 1955-12-23
Abstract: 818,072. Photo-electric readers. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Dec. 23, 1955 [Dec. 31, 1954], No. 36932/55. Class 40 (3). [Also in Group XIX]. In a device for investigating a character means are provided for scanning the character by means of a plurality of successive scans and for producing output signals in response to the sensing of portions of the character and the output signals resulting from a small group of signals is reduced to a single output dependent on whether the area covered by the group of scans may be regarded as predominantly part of the character or not. Such a device enables a smaller scanning beam, with a consequential increase in signal to noise ratio, to be used without the following stages being provided with a large amount of data to be processed. In the embodiment of Fig. 1 a master oscillator 10 feeds a divider chain comprising a series of divide-by-two circuits 11, 12 and 13, and a final divide by four stage. An output direct from oscillator 10 controls fast sweep generator 15 to cause the application of a sequence of very short (e.g. 0.01 inch) scan waveforms to the horizontal deflection plates 16, 17, of flying- spot C.R.T. scanner 7. The output of the final frequency divider is applied to slow-sweep generator 18 which feeds vertical deflection plates 19, 20 with a waveform giving (e.g. 0.005 inch) separation between the horizontal scan lines. Means, not shown, may be used to alter the relative position of the character scanned (shown as a figure " 8 ") and the complete scan so far described so that the whole character is investigated by 10 such complete scans side by side. The character being scanned is viewed by light-sensitive cell 21 whose output is amplified at 22 and applied to a top and bottom clipper circuit 23 feeding amplifier 24 and cathode follower 25. The output from this part of the equipment is arranged to be a substantially square waveform varying between one level corresponding to the viewing of the background colour and another corresponding to the viewing of the character marking itself This waveform, through diode 27 and resistor 28, is applied to charge capacitor 31 and the potential reached is derived by means of cathode follower 29 and fed to trigger circuit 39. When a certain potential is reached, corresponding to the existance of a predominance of character marking in the group of scans under investigation the trigger changes its state and at the end of the group a signal corresponding to the state of the trigger at that time is fed out to the recognition unit. As described, a group consists of two fast scans and an output is derived from divider 11 and fed to multivibrator 37 to obtain an output pulse at the end of every second scan. This pulse is fed to gate 38 to feed out an appropriate signal if the trigger circuit 39 has changed its state during the group. It is also fed as a resetting pulse to the circuit 39, and to valve 35 to cause diode 33 to conduct and discharge capacitor 31 ready for the next operation. The initial bias on the capacitor 31 determined by the D.C. source 32 decides the total input necessary to cause trigger circuit 39 to change over. In a second embodiment (Fig. 2, not shown), the master oscillator runs at a frequency eight times faster than the fast sweep frequency and the photo-cell output controls gate circuits which, when open, allow master oscillator pulses to pass to two counter chains. When the count reaches a certain value an associated trigger circuit (like 39 in Fig. 1) is changed over. In one counter chain sampling of the trigger circuit condition followed by resetting takes place every two scans whilst in the other the sampling and resetting is effected every fourth scan.